SBDC recognized by state organizationThe Louisiana Small Business Development Center awarded the SBDC at Southeastern two awards – including its prestigious "Big Deal Award" – at its state meeting recently in Lafayette. The “Big Deal Award” recognized the Southeastern center’s comprehensive retail study of the Hammond area that has served as a critical marketing tool in recruiting major new retailers to the city. “We’re proud to be recognized for our efforts to enhance economic development in the area,” said William Joubert, director of the center. “This was a massive project that required considerable research and work by our staff, but it has paid off handsomely with the introduction of several new businesses to the area and a boost in construction and permanent jobs.” Assisting the SBDC in crafting the study were representatives of the City of Hammond, the Southeastern Business Research Center, members of the College of Business, including Dean Randy Settoon, John Giamalva, Rusty Juban, and Robert Cope, and SBDC business consultant Wayne Ricks. The state group also recognized Ricks, naming him to the Million Dollar Club for the second consecutive year. Ricks’ efforts last year helped area businesses obtain nearly $1.5 million in financing to initiate or expand operations. A consultant at Southeastern since 2005, he assists clients with start-up and existing businesses, executing business plans and assisting in gaining financing. He also works with area economic development agencies. He is a graduate of Southeastern with a degree in finance and a master of business administration degree.

H1N1 vaccine campaignIn collaboration with the Region 9 Office of Public Health, the University Health Center will host a free H1N1 vaccine campaign. The event will be held in the Student Union Ballroom on Monday, Feb. 22 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 25 from 3 - 5 p.m. The Office of Public Health will have both nasal and injectable vaccines available during this vaccine campaign. All faculty, staff, students, retirees and alumni are welcome to attend this drive. For further information contact the University Health Center at (985)-549-2241.

LPO presents “Pictures at an Exhibition” at Columbia Theatre Feb. 26The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will present their “Pictures at an Exhibition” concert at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts on Feb. 26. Under the baton of LPO Music Director Carlos Prieto (at right), the LPO concert centers on a theme of art inspiring music. The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the university’s downtown Hammond theater. Prieto will lead the LPO in pieces such as German composer Paul Hindemith’s most famous orchestral work, the complex Mathis der Maler Symphony, considered “one of the greatest works of western music.” He has conducted Mexico’s most prestigious orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico (National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico), and continues to serve as music director of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra. The LPO will also feature Joseph Meyer playing Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto” and Mussorgsky/Ravel’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” which is based on drawings and watercolors by Viktor Hartmann. As an active soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader, Meyer has garnered critical acclaim throughout the country. He has been described by the San Francisco Classical Voice as “a standout player, both technically brilliant and musically innovative.” The Times Picayune called him a “brilliant new concertmaster” and a “superb violinist,” while the Boston Globe described his chamber music performance of the Carter First String Quartet as “an extraordinary event.” Tickets for the concert are $37, Orchestra; Loge, $41; and Balcony, $33. Tickets are available online at columbiatheatre.org and at the box office, 220 E. Thomas St., 985-543-4371. Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday and one hour before performance times. For additional information about the LPO “Pictures at an Exhibition” concert and other Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts events, contact the theater at 985-543-4366 or visit columbiatheatre.org.

“Activism from Delay: The Link between Legislative Inertia and Civil Rights Protest,” given by Keith Finley, Feb. 23, 12:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium. Sponsored by the Department of History and Political Science

Black History Month events this weekFeb. 24, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Recital Hall, Music Building Annex: the Student Government Association, and the departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Music and Dramatic Arts, and History will sponsor tenor Aubry Bryan in a night of Creole music entitled, “La Musigue des Creoles Noirs (Black Creole Music).” Feb. 28, 7 p.m., The African American Heritage Museum will host the “Freedom Fund Banquet.” Tickets are $30. For more information, contact Pat Morris at (985) 747-9488. For more information on Southeastern’s Black History Month call the MISA office at (985) 549-3850.

Southeastern Supports Haiti

In a united effort to provide support for Haiti relief, Southeastern faculty, staff and students joined with the Southeastern Lab School to collect relief funds and to prepare personal “health kits” for shipment to the devastated country. Shown packing kits are, from left, Southeastern freshman Jeff Simmons of Hammond, Jennifer Paul Frederick and Cherie Thriffiley of Student Organizations, and Amal DeAlwis, eighth grader with the Southeastern Lab School. More than $4,600 were collected in donations around the campus. The relief funds and kits are being sent to Haiti through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Complete details on the campaign will be in the next ByLion.

Students, parents invited to Senior Day Feb. 27

High school seniors and their parents are invited to Senior Day at Southeastern on Saturday, Feb. 27. A second Senior Day was scheduled as a convenience for those who could not attend on Jan. 30. Hosted from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. by the Office of Admissions, Senior Day will include tours of the university campus, informational sessions on admissions, financial aid, and scholarships, free food, give-aways and door prizes. Students and parents can also visit with Southeastern faculty and staff, learn about the university’s housing facilities, and browse displays featuring academic programs. Check-in is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Pennington Student Activity Center, located on the corner of University Avenue and General Pershing Street. Students can sign up by visiting the “Senior Day” button on the university’s home page, www.selu.edu. They can also contact Southeastern Admissions at 985-549-5637. Additional information about Southeastern, including admission requirements and scholarship opportunities, is also available through the university home page.

Hammond Police Union presents scholarship

The Hammond Police Officers Union Local 345 has presented a donation to the Southeastern Development Foundation to fund scholarships presented annually to students from Tangipahoa Parish majoring in criminal justice. Union President Charles Deliberto presents the donation to Southeastern President John L. Crain. Participating in the presentation are, from left, Myles Miller, union sergeant at arms; Officer Kelvin L. James, secretary; Deliberto; scholarship recipients Whitney Mayers and Brandon Manton; Crain; Wendy Johns-Lauderedale, vice president for university advancement: and Sarah Schillage, director of financial aid. Funds for the scholarship are raised primarily through the union’s annual ball.

Southeastern to Celebrate Women's History Month The Department of English at Southeastern Louisiana University will host Women’s History Month during March with a free author reading and lecture series. Focused on the theme of “Writing Women Back into History,” topics of politics, poetry, science and writing will be incorporated into the month’s events set to take place in the Student Union Theatre. Southeastern history department head William Robison will kick off the series March 3 with a lecture titled “Anne Boleyn: A Hundred Years of Film and Television” and author Jill McCorkle will close the month-long celebration with a book reading. McCorkle has authored eight books and is the recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature, the New England Book Award and the John Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature. English instructor Natasha Whitton will also present a lecture titled “People as Creatures of Habit: Themes in Fiction of Jill McCorkle” to discuss McCorkle’s writing style. “These lectures provide a good deal more than extra credit for courses,” Whitton said. “They give students a chance to hear women talk about making their way in the world and pursuing their dreams.” Whitton also said that celebrating Women’s History Month for the past 11 years has been a great opportunity for Southeastern students who are able to hear women share their life experiences. All Women’s History Month presentations will be held in the Student Union Theatre. The schedule includes:March 3, 12 p.m., William Robison: “Anne Boleyn: A Hundred Years of Film and Television.”Read more

This week in athletics

The Southeastern men’s and women’s track and field teams will compete in the Southland Conference Indoor Championships and the women’s basketball team will celebrate Senior Day, while the men’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s golf and women’s tennis will be in action during this week in Southeastern Athletics. Fresh off opening the spring with a second-place finish at the UTSA/Oak Hills Invitational, the men’s golf team will be back in action this week, competing in the UNO/Mardi Gras Invitational that opens Monday at the TPC of Louisiana in Avondale. The tournament runs through Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, the Southeastern baseball team (3-0) will look to build on its season-opening sweep of Eastern Illinois last weekend. The Lions will return to Alumni Field for a 6 p.m. contest versus Mississippi Valley State. The Southeastern men’s and women’s basketball teams will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Southland Conference contests. The Lions (15-10, 7-5 Southland) will be on the road to face the Islanders, while the Lady Lions (10-15, 4-8 Southland) will host TAMU-CC in the University Center. Both games will tip off at 7 p.m. Lady Lion junior center Kasia Gawor will be Wednesday’s Spotlight Player of the Game and the first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Krakow, Poland native courtesy of the Southeastern PRIDE (Positive Role-models Involved in the Development of Excellence). The Lady Lion softball team (3-5) will also be back in action on Wednesday. In its lone contest of the week, Southeastern heads to nationally-ranked LSU for a 6 p.m. contest in Baton Rouge. On Friday, the Lions and Lady Lions will compete in the Southland Indoor meet in Norman, Okla. The meet will run through Saturday. The baseball team will also open a three-game series at Mississippi State on Friday with a 4 p.m. contest. On Saturday, the Lions and Lady Lions will face league rival Central Arkansas in basketball action. The Lions will be in Conway, Ark. for a 4 p.m. contest, while the Lady Lions close out their home schedule with a 3 p.m. matchup with the Sugar Bears. Southeastern will honor seniors Zevy Ivory and Kim Edmonson prior to Saturday’s game and the first 150 fans will receive an Ivory trading card. The baseball team will face MSU at 2 p.m. The women’s tennis team will open Southland Conference play on the road, facing UT Arlington on Saturday at 11 a.m. The baseball and women’s tennis squads will both be in action on Sunday. The series finale between the Lions and Bulldogs is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The Lady Lions face Texas State in a 12 p.m. Southland match in San Marcos, Texas. Tuesday’s baseball game and this week’s men’s basketball games will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net. Both of this week’s women’s basketball games will be broadcast on the Internet only.

Monday, February 22Men’s Golf, at UNO/Mardi Gras Invitational, New Orleans, All Day

HammondBeginning GuitarLearn chords, strumming patterns, and note reading. For ages 12 and older. Bring your own guitar. The six-week course will be held on Monday evenings beginning February 22.Introduction to Microsoft Word 2007The course teaches the core features and functions of Microsoft Word 2007 at the beginner level. The two-evening course will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 23, and Thursday, Feb. 25.

MandevilleIntroduction to Microsoft Excel 2007The course teaches the core features and functions of Microsoft Excel 2007 at the beginner level. The one-day workshop will be held on Thursday, Feb. 25.Beginning DrawingLearn basic techniques for visual expression. No experience is necessary. The six-week course will be held on Thursday mornings beginning Feb. 25.ACT Test PreparationThe course is designed to help high school students develop the skills to improve ACT scores. The five-week course will be held on Thursday evenings beginning Feb. 25.

WalkerIntroduction to Microsoft Excel 2007The course teaches the core features and functions of Microsoft Excel 2007 at the beginner level. The two-week course will be held on Thursday evenings beginning Feb. 25.Pain-Free Selling for Non-Traditional SalespeopleThe workshop will energize even the most reluctant person, making you eager and ready to sell! The one-day workshop will be held the morning of Friday, Feb. 26.

Professional ActivitiesDr. Katherine Kolb (Foreign Languages and Literatures) published three articles and one book review in recent months. Her article “Flying Leaves: Between Berlioz and Wagner” appeared in the summer 2009 issue of 19th-Century Music. An interview she conducted with the Parisian novelist Marie-Odile Beauvais appeared in French Review in the fall 2009 issue, along with a review of “For Liberty and Glory: Washington and Lafayette and Their Revolutions,” a book by James R. Gaines. Last month she received her copy of L'Année Balzacienne 2009, which contained her article “Balzac et Birotteau devant Beethoven: Fonctions d’une ekphrasis musicale.”Dr. Jean Fotie (Chemistry & Physics) and his former postdoctoral advisor from The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy recently had their article “Antitrypanosomal Activity of 1-Benzyl-1, 2-dihydroquinolin-6-ols and Their Ester Derivatives” published in the refereed Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2010: 53: 966-982.Karen Lew (Kinesiology and Health Studies) presented on Feb. 5 in Atlanta, GA at the Southeast Athletic Trainers Association Athletic Training Educators Conference. The presentation was “Learning the Business without the ‘Busyness.’” In addition to presenting at the educators meeting, she also presented at the Southeast Athletic Trainers Association 25th Annual Student Symposium. Her presentation was entitled “Protective Bracing Techniques.” This presentation was Feb. 6 also in Atlanta, GA.Dr. Gina Little (Chemistry & Physics) organized and directed a day of chemistry activities for Girl Scouts at their Baton Rouge Program Center. Girls aged 7 - 11 from around the area performed chemistry experiments under the guidance of women chemist volunteers from Southeastern, Southern, LSU, and area chemical industries. The event was sponsored by Iota Sigma Pi and the American Association of University Women. Drs. Corie Hebert and Heidi S. Kulkin presented their research entitled, “Grief and foster parents: An issue affecting retention” at the 8th Annual Mississippi Child Welfare Institute Conference in Jackson, Mississippi on February 5th. Jason Landrum (English Department) recently published his article, “Cold -Blooded Coen Brothers: The Death Drive and ‘No Country for Old Men,’” in the book “‘No Country for Old Men’: From Novel to Film.” The article examines the visual style of Joel and Ethan Coen and theorizes their critical reception. The CNMS (Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences) user project at the Oak Ridge National Lab of Dr. Hye-Young Kim (Chemistry and Physics), titled “First principle theoretical calculation of van der Waals dispersion interaction between nanocolloids: the effect of finite-size and retardation,” has been extended one more year until Feb. 28, 2011. Kim will continue to use the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) facilities to conduct large scale calculations.Dr. Becky Sue Parton, Dr. Robert Hancock and Mihir (Educational Leadership and Technology) published “Physical World Hyperlinking: Can computer-based instruction in a K-6 educational setting be easily accessed through tangible tagged objects?” in the Journal of Interactive Learning Research in January 2010, Vol 21; Issue 1.Celina V. Echols, Ph.D. and Felicia Blacher-Wilson, Ph.D. (Educational Leadership and Technology) published “Lessons Learned: Caregivers and Parents Sharing Stories about Adolescence” in Kendall Hunt Publishing in January, 2010.Drs. Debra Dolliver and Thomas Sommerfeld (Chemistry & Physics) have published a journal article entitled “Synthesis of N-alkoxybenzimidoyl azides and their reactions in electrophilic media” along with four Southeastern undergraduate students in the Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry, Volume 23, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages: 227-237.ByLion is published weekly online (bi-weekly during the summer session) for the faculty and staff of Southeastern Louisiana University. Send submissions to publicinfo@selu.edu, SLU 10880, fax 985-549-2061, or bring to Public Information Office in East Stadium. Submission deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.